Visions and Dreams
by Yuga Mizuno
Summary: AU, KnuxTikal, Sonamy After becoming the guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles is visited in his dreams by a strange echidna girl, who asks him for his help. But, who is this girl, and why is she asking HIM for help?
1. Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic the Hedgehog series or any of the characters in this story except the ones that I created. Otherwise, they belong to Sega. If you like my original characters and would like to use them, you must ask me first.

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Author's Note: If you don't like KnuxTikal pairing, then don't waste your time by reading this story or my time by leaving me a flame.

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Chapter One: Bad to Worse

The sun began to rise over the Mobian hills while a tiny echidna village on the Floating Island slept. Everyone except a young echidna boy, who was only one day short of turning fifteen. His name was Knuckles, and he had gotten up early to visit the vineyard outside of the village for a little breakfast. He started training with his father, Goweh, every morning at dawn, so if he wanted breakfast, he had to eat it before the sun rose. Otherwise, he would have to train on an empty stomach.

So there he stood, in the early morning, munching on his favorite food. Suddenly, he heard a rooster crow in the distance.

"Crap!" he said. "I completely lost track of time! Dad's gonna kill me!"

Knuckles ran through the vineyard and up the path to his house. A tall, brown, rugged echidna was waiting for him with two wooden staffs. This was Goweh.

"You're late," he said.

"I'm sorry," said Knuckles, trying to catch his breath. Goweh looked critically at Knuckles with his dark brown eyes.

"Well," he said, "We're going to have to work extra hard today." He tossed one of the staffs to Knuckles, who, somehow, managed to catch it.

"Let's go," said Goweh.

"Wait," said Knuckles, still out of breath. "Can't I catch my breath first?"

"You can catch your breath when we finish at noon," said Goweh. "Now let's go."

Knuckles used the staff to stand up straight and followed his father to the back of their small stone house.

"Alright," said Goweh. "Let's get started." Knuckles mustered up all of the strength that he could and held up his staff. He had already learned a number of staff fighting techniques, and right now he was just practicing. Swings, blows, and various defense tactics, he knew them all and tried as hard he could to execute them.

"Now," said Goweh. "Come at me!" Knuckles jumped towards him to strike, but Goweh blocked the attack.

"Come on!" said Goweh. "HIT ME!" Knuckles tried again strike him, but Goweh blocked the blow, hit Knuckles on the left side on the head, and knocked him to the ground.

"Get up," said Goweh. Knuckles stood up slowly.

"Try again," said Goweh. Knuckles swung his staff at his father. Goweh ducked, then swung his staff at Knuckles' legs, knocking him to the ground.

"You have to pay attention at all times," said Goweh. He looked up at the sky. The sun was directly overhead. He tossed his staff down next to Knuckles.

"We're done for today," said Goweh. Then he turned an walked away. Knuckles didn't move. He just laid there on the ground in pain. His whole body was burning and his lungs felt like an inferno. He breathed heavily, each breath painful. Knuckles closed his eyes.

__

"No more," he thought. _"No more." _Suddenly, he heard footsteps running towards him.

"Knuckles!" came the voice of a young woman. Knuckles opened his eyes and saw a young, red echidna woman staring at him.

"Mom," he said breathlessly. His mother cradled him in her arms and handed him a water skin.

"Here," she said. "Drink this."

Knuckles quickly drank the water.

"Felika!" came Goweh's voice. Knuckles' mother turned around.

"You're going to make him weak," said Goweh.

"NO!" said Felika. "You are!" She picked Knuckles up and carried him towards the back door. He was heavy, but still, he was her baby.

"How is he supposed to become a man if you treat him like a child?" said Goweh.

"How is he supposed to become a man if you kill him with your training?" Felika replied. She carried Knuckles into his room and laid him on his bed.

"You rest," she said. "I'll bring you your lunch." She turned and walked out of the room.

Knuckles curled himself up and stared down towards the end of the bed. The pain wasn't so bad anymore, and he could almost breathe properly again. Soon, Felika returned to the room carrying a plate. On the plate was a sandwich and a small bunch of grapes.

"Here you go, baby," she said.

"Mom," said Knuckles as he sat up. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"You'll always be my baby," said Felika as she handed Knuckles the plate and sat down next to him. She was silent for a while before she spoke again.

"You don't have to go to your lessons today," she said.

"Nah, I'll go," said Knuckles with a mouthful of food. "Master Shatarah's expecting me."

"Are you sure that you're rested enough?" asked Felika.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Knuckles. Felika looked at him with concern, then stood and walked out of the room. Knuckles turned and looked out of the window next to his bed. The birds were singing, the breeze was blowing, and there wasn't a cloud in sight.

__

"Maybe today won't be so bad," he thought. Then he heard his parents talking in the kitchen.

"Tomorrow is his birthday," said Felika. "Let him have the day off."

"No," said Goweh. "If he doesn't work tomorrow, he won't want to work the day after that." Knuckles set his plate on the small nightstand under his window and slowly walked towards the kitchen.

"He hasn't had a real birthday in five years!" said Felika.

"He was chosen!" said Goweh. "He was chosen by Shatarah himself! He needs the training!"

"You push him too hard!" said Felika.

"He's my son!" said Goweh.

"NO!" said Felika as tears filled her green eyes. "HE'S MY SON!" Goweh looked at her as a confused look found it's was to his face.

"He's your punching-bag," said Felika. "That's how you treat him. You don't deserve to call him your son, because you certainly don't treat him like he is!"

"If I'm not hard on him now, then he won't be able to guard the Master Emerald when the time comes!" came Goweh's retort. By this time, Knuckles had made his way to the kitchen door. Felika and Goweh turned around and looked at him with surprise. Knuckles stared back at them. He tired to think of something to say, but nothing came.

"Knuckles," said Felika as she walked towards him. Knuckles turned and ran out the front door.

"Knuckles!" called Felika as she chased him outside. She stopped a few yards from the door.

"KNUCKLES!!" she yelled, but he ignored her and kept running.

Knuckles ran down a path towards the ruins outside of the village. It was in these ruins that the Alter of the Master Emerald stood at the top of a long staircase. At the bottom and to the left of the staircase was a tree. The tree had several low branches, and close to the top of the tree was a branch that was big enough to lay on. Knuckles climbed up to that branch and laid down on it.

__

"Why didn't they tell me?" he thought. _"At least three people knew. Someone could have said SOMETHING."_

Knuckles laid there and thought about what had just happened until he heard someone call him.

"Knuckles!" came the voice of an old man. Knuckles looked down to see his teacher. He was a brownish-orange color, had a long, white beard, and bushy eyebrows. He was dressed in what looked like a tribal robe, and he carried a walking staff with brightly colored feathers tied to the top.

"Oh, there you are," he said looking up into the tree. "I've been looking for you."

"Sorry Master Shatarah," said Knuckles as he climbed down the tree. "I was just thinking."

"Oh?" said Shatarah. "About what?" Knuckles looked at his teacher. Shatarah's dark brown eyes twinkled, letting Knuckles know that he could trust him.

"I was wondering why nobody told me that I was going to be the next Emerald Guardian," he said. Shatarah looked at his young student.

"Come," he said as he placed his hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "There is much for me to tell you." Then the two of them walked up the steps towards the Alter of the Master Emerald.


	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer:

See chapter one****

Author's Note:

Finally, the twice-as-long-but-just-as-boring-as-chapter-one, chapter two! (woot.)Like I said in chapter one, if you don't like Knuckles/Tikal pairing, don't bother reading this story. If you don't like the pairing and have read this far without leaving a flame, I appreciate it and ask that you would read on.

For anyone who was wondering where I came up with the names Shatarah, Goweh and Felika, this is where:

"Shatarah" comes from the Arabic word "shatrah," which means "clever." "Goweh," comes from the Arabic word "gooweh," which means "strong." "Felika" came from where I kept spelling "Felicia" "Felica," so I decided to change the c to a k and just leave it like that.

Also, I AM aware that Chaos Five never appeared in the games because Chaos Four was fed two Emeralds at once, but I made up m own sort of description for him.

Also, I've already been put on three alerts lists because of this story, so thank you all very much!

Without further ado, Chapter Two.

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Chapter Two: Ancient History and a Baffling Mystery

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Knuckles stared up at the seven brightly-colored gems hovering above the Master Emerald. He remembered how he felt when he saw them for the first time. He was ten years old at the time, and they amazed and excited him all at once. Over time, they had become a common sight for him, and just yesterday he had seen them as "nothing special." Now, they were his destiny.

"Well?" said Knuckles, turning towards Shatarah. The old echidna let out a sigh.

"Knuckles," he said. "We thought it would be best if you didn't know until you actually became the Guardian. We didn't want you to have the burden of that responsibility yet."

"How is that 'best'?" said Knuckles. "You had two choices. Go ahead and give me my training and my lessons and take away my childhood, but at least tell me why. Or, don't tell me. Keep it a secret from me. Yeah, and let me grow up wondering why my fa-," Knuckles paused before he continued. "Let me grow up wondering why my life is so different, then suddenly rip me away from my family a isolate me up here with a rock. Yeah, great plan! You tell me, Master, which one sounds more appealing to you?"

"I am truly very sorry," said Shatarah. Knuckles sat down on the top step of the staircase.

"I know," said Knuckles. "And I'm not mad. It just would have made things easier to know that all of that abu…uh, stuff was for a reason."

Shatarah sat down next to Knuckles.

"Why don't we just forget about your lessons for today?" he said. Knuckles thought for a moment.

"Can…can I stay here anyway?" he asked. "I don't want to go home." Shatarah looked at him.

"Of course you can stay here," he said.

"Thank you," said Knuckles. Then he stood and walked over to the other side of the Emerald and looked out over the Ruins. Shatarah came and stood next to him.

"It was beautiful when it was still a city," he said. Knuckles nodded. He thought it was STILL beautiful. The Ruins had always mesmerized him.

"Why did you choose me?" he asked. Shatarah started to answer, but suddenly he and Knuckles heard someone running up the steps towards them. Knuckles turned around and saw a pink hedgehog girl in a red and white mini dress and similarly colored boots.

"Amy!" said Knuckles. He ran over to her and saw that she was crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sally!" said Amy as she sobbed.

"Who's Sally?" asked Shatarah as he walked around the Master Emerald towards the two children.

"Sally is a princess," said Knuckles. "And this hedgehog guy I know, Sonic, is in love with her. But Amy here is in love with Sonic."

"Oh, I see," said Shatarah. "Matters of the heart."

"Uh huh," said Knuckles. He put his hands on Amy's shoulders and sat her down on the steps.

"Now," he said, "what about Sally?" Amy pushed away her tears and spoke as calmly as she could.

"Sally came to visit Sonic," she began. "Now it's impossible to separate the two of them. What's more, she doesn't know when she's leaving , and until then she's staying at my house!" Amy began to cry again.

"Ok," said Knuckles, "just calm down."

"I can't!" said Amy. "Not only does Sally come to stay until who-knows-when, but she has the _apathy_ to ask if she can stay with me!" Shatarah snickered, and Knuckles tried hard not to laugh.

"Um, Amy," he said, unable to hide his amusement. "I think that the word you're looking for is 'audacity'."

"It's not funny!" said Amy, still crying.

In his head, Knuckles laughed hysterically and said "yes it is," but outside, he suppressed his laughter, gave Amy a hug, and said "I know it's not."

"It'll be alright," he added.

"But Knuckles," said Amy, "how could someone be so mean?" Knuckles looked at her.

"Does Sally even know that you like Sonic?" he asked. Amy looked down.

"Ah ha," said Knuckles. Amy glanced up at him.

"That makes things a little different, doesn't it?" Knuckles continued.

"What do I do?" asked Amy.

"Why don't you give Sally a chance?" said Knuckles. "She's really not that bad."

"But Knuckles I-" Amy started, but Knuckles placed his finger over her mouth.

"Shhhh." he said. Amy reached up and took Knuckles' hand in hers. It made him feel a bit awkward, but she was upset, so he was willing to do whatever it took to cheer her up.

"I suppose I could try to give her a chance," said Amy. Knuckles smiled. Amy smiled back.

"You'll make a good husband someday," she said. Knuckles blushed, again feeling very awkward. Then Amy turned and looked at the Master Emerald.

"What's this?" she asked as she scampered over to it and began inspecting the base.

"That's the Master Emerald," said Knuckles, confused by Amy's question.

"No, not THAT," said Amy. "This." she pointed to a series of seven pictures around the base of the Emerald. Knuckles knelt down next to her and looked at them.

"It's a story," he said.

"A story about what?" asked Amy.

"We don't know for sure," said Shatarah. Knuckles and Amy turned around.

"We've never found any scrolls to tell us what happened in that era," Shatarah continued, "but rumor has it that the story is about a Princess."

"Will you tell it to us?" asked Amy.

Shatarah knelt down next to the children and pointed at the first picture. In it, flames where everywhere, and an echidna princess was lying on the ground near what looked like the Emerald's staircase.

"There was a battle," said Shatarah. "And the Princess was injured." he moved to a picture of an echidna warrior helping the Princess up.

"An echidna Warrior came to her rescue," said Shatarah. "Perhaps he was her body-guard." The children followed Shatarah as he move around the Emerald to a picture f the Princess and the Warrior looking up towards the Emerald.

"The trouble was at the Emerald," Shatarah continued. "The Princess knew what had be done." He moved around to a picture of the Princess running towards the Emerald's staircase.

"She knew that she could top the battle," said Shatarah. He moved around to a picture of two hands, one holding the wrist of the other.

"The Warrior thought it was too dangerous," said Shatarah. He moved to a picture of the two echidnas looking at each other. "But for some reason or another, he let her go." Knuckles and Amy Looked at the last picture. In it, the echidna Warrior stood alone.

"What happened to the Princess?" asked Amy.

"No one knows for sure," said Shatarah. "We may never know. All we have to tell us about that era are these pictures and the ones in the Temple.

"There are more pictures?" said Amy excitedly as she stood up.

"Oh yeah," said Knuckles. "The Temple walls are coved with them."

"Can we go and see them?" asked Amy.

"Of course," said Shatarah. "Follow me." He led the children down the steps and along the path to the Temple on the other side of the Ruins.

* * *

The Temple was huge, and mostly in tact, although there were several holes in the ceiling, and the entire roof on the far side of the Temple was gone. Below the far wall of the Temple was a pool of water, and in the wall above the pool was several cracks and holes. A picture covering the entire far wall of the Temple depicted a huge liquid monster that looked something like a dinosaur destroying an echidna village. Amy let out a yelp when she saw it. Knuckles and Shatarah turned and looked at her.

"What is that thing?" asked Amy. Shatarah turned towards the picture.

"It is believed that he was the first guardian of the Master Emerald," he said. "The echidnas angered him and he sought to destroy them. At least, that's what I gathered from the pictures." Knuckles looked around. Amy was gone.

"Where's Amy?" he said. The two echidnas looked around the room and spotted Amy staring at the pictures on the eastern wall of the Temple. The pictures on that wall were the same ones that were around the base of the Master Emerald, but this time Amy spotted a couple of startling details that she hadn't noticed before.

"Knuckles," she said. "This echidna looks an awful lot like you."

"Echidnas often look a lot alike," said Knuckles.

"But look," said Amy. "He's got a crescent shape on his chest, just like you!"

"Huh?" said Knuckles. He and Shatarah walked over and stood next to Amy.

"He does have a birthmark like mine," said Knuckles. "That's really weird." He tried to think of an explanation for the strange coincidence.

"It's probably one of my ancestors," he said. "It couldn't possibly be me." He turned towards the door. It the sun as starting to set.

"Maybe we should go home now," he said. He headed for the door, when suddenly Amy spotted another eerie detail.

"Look at the shoes!" she said. Knuckles spun around and looked back at the pictures. The echidna Princess was wearing sandals, but the Warrior was wearing shoes that looked oddly like the ones that Knuckles was wearing: red and yellow stripes, and much to modern for the era depicted in the pictures.

"Ok," said Knuckles. "Now I'm freaked out. How is that even possible?"

"Maybe it IS you," said Amy.

"I think I'd remember something like that," said Knuckles.

"Unless it hasn't happened yet," said Amy.

"Impossible," said Knuckles. "Echidnas have flashbacks and nightmares, not visions and dreams." Knuckles spoke from experience. Every time he hit himself or heard two objects hit each other, he had flashbacks. As far as nightmares, well, he hadn't had a good dream since the eve of his tenth birthday. Every night, he would dream about his first day of training. It was brutal, far too brutal for a ten-year-old. He could still feel the pain of the first-

"What if it happened in the past already, but not in the future?" said Amy.

"Huh?" said Knuckles as his thoughts were interrupted.

"If in the future you go into the past," said Amy, "and this event has already happened, then this IS you because you go into the past in the future." Knuckles looked at Amy with confusion.

"Huh?"

Amy rolled her eyes and pointed to the pictures on the wall.

"Look," she said, a bit agitated. "This event has OBVIOUSLY already happened. And yes, it happened thousands of years ago, before you were even THOUGHT of. But if, in the future, you are somehow transported to the past, then that means that you've already _been_ there. And if you've already been there, then couldn't that be you?" Knuckles looked at Amy. Oddly enough, his confusion was gone. However, it had been replaced by disbelief.

"Time-travel?" he said.

"Well, why not?" Amy replied. "It would put you there at that time."

"Time-travel isn't possible," said Knuckles.

"You sound so sure," said Shatarah. Amy and Knuckles turned around.

"Well, it's not," said Knuckles. "Is it?" Shatarah turned towards Knuckles.

"Stop thinking like an adult," he said, "and think like the child that you are."

Knuckles thought back to his early childhood, back to when he HAD a childhood. He did, at one point, believe in time travel. But years of abuse can change a person, and Knuckles hadn't believed in anything for a long time. He turned and looked at the pictures.

"It's not possible," he said. "And that's NOT me." He turned back towards the door.

"This place is starting to creep me out," he said. "Come on, Amy. I'll take you home." Amy followed, but turned back to look towards Shatarah.

"Knuckles," said Amy, jogging a bit to catch up to the young echidna boy. "I REALLY think that it's you in those pictures!"

"No," said Knuckles, "It's n-"

Knuckles was interrupted by a loud noise and a bright light that lit up the evening sky.

"What was that?!" cried Amy as she grabbed Knuckles' arm. Knuckles put his free arm around Amy and turned towards Shatarah wit ha puzzled expression.

"The Emerald!" said Shatarah. Suddenly, there was a whirring noise over the far side of the Temple. Knuckles looked in that direction to see some kind of liquid pouring into the pool through one of the holes in the wall above it. Then, to his horror, he saw the seven Chaos Emeralds drop from the sky into the pool. The water began to make a gurgling sound and Amy buried her face in Knuckles' shoulder and began to cry.

"Don't worry," said Knuckles. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Suddenly, out of the pool rose the creature depicted in the picture on the Temple's far wall. Amy screamed in horror.

"Knuckles!" yelled Shatarah as he turned and prepared to fight the monster. "Get Amy out of here! I'll take car of this!"

Knuckles grabbed Amy's hand and ran for the door. He could hear the battle between his Master and the Creature going on behind him.

THWACK!

Knuckles flashed back to his first day of training. It was his tenth birthday, and Goweh had hit him in the left eye. He had hit him much too hard, too, as Knuckles had had a twitch in that eye every since that day.

Suddenly, Knuckles heard two thuds and flashed back to the first time he was hit wit ha staff. Goweh had knocked him to the ground, and Knuckles had started to cry.

"STOP CRYING!" Goweh had yelled. "IT SHOWS WEAKNESS!"

Suddenly, Amy screamed, shaking Knuckles out of his flashback.

"Knuckles, look!" Amy cried. Knuckles turned to see Shatarah lying on the ground next to the door.

"Master Shatarah!" yelled Knuckles as he ran to his teacher's side. He rolled Shatarah over on his back.

"The Emeralds…" said Shatarah weakly. "Get…the Emeralds."

Knuckles turned towards the Creature to see that it had all seven Chaos Emeralds inside of it. The Creature roared, and Knuckles looked at Amy.

"Stay here," he said. Then he stood up and ran towards the far end of the Temple.

He glided over the pool, clung to the wall, and climbed it until he was level with the Creature's head. The Creature roared again.

Knuckles took a deep breath. He jumped towards the Creature, hoping to inflict some damage. But to his dismay, he went right through the strange beast, crashing to the floor.

"Drat!" said Knuckles as he stood back up. "If I go right through it, then how am I supposed to-" then he had an idea. Again, he scaled the Temple wall, but this time he aimed for the Emeralds. When he jumped through the Creature this time, he managed to grab two of the Emeralds. Not only did this reduce the Creature's size, but it also changed it's shape from that resembling a dinosaur to what resembled a mutated dolphin.

"It's getting it's power from the Emeralds," said Knuckles. He turned towards Amy and Shatarah.

"AMY!" he yelled. Amy looked up.

"CATCH!" yelled Knuckles. He threw the Emeralds towards Amy. She ran towards the Emeralds-and so did the Creature!

"On second thought, don't catch!" Knuckles yelled. Amy ran back to Shatarah, who was still lying on the ground.

Knuckles positioned himself and prepared to jump. He may have been on the ground, but the Creature was a lot smaller now, so he could still get a good shot at the Emeralds. He jumped through the Creature and grabbed three more Emeralds, again shrinking the Creature and changing it's shape to look a bit like a human with claws.

Knuckles threw the Emeralds as far away as he could. When the Creature went after them, Knuckles jumped through it and grabbed the last two Emeralds.

Knuckles stood up and turned around to see that the Creature was still standing, but again it had gotten smaller. It's shape, however, hadn't changed that much. It's arms were shorter and it was standing straighter, but it didn't really look much different.

Again, Knuckles threw the Emeralds as far away from the Creature as he could and jumped through it again, hoping to destroy it. When Knuckles stood and turned around, the Creature was still standing there.

"What ARE you?" asked Knuckles. The Creature seemed to glare at Knuckles, then spoke in what sounded like a hiss and a growl at the same time.

"I am Chaos," he said. Then he turned towards the Emeralds.

"Dot it," said Knuckles, "and I'll just beat you again!"

Suddenly, there was a loud whirring outside. Chaos gave Knuckles another glare, then left the Temple through the hole he had entered by.

* * *

Knuckles ran back over to Amy and Shatarah.

"Master!" he said.

"Knuckles," said Shatarah weakly. "Have faith,"

"Have faith?" said Knuckles. "What do you mean?"

"Faith like Amy's," said Shatarah. "Believe."

With that, the old echidna laid his head back and breathed his last. Amy began to cry again. Knuckles helped her to her feet and held her trembling body in his arms.

"Is he d-d-d…" Amy started. Knuckles placed his hand on the back of her head. He closed his eyes and remembered the day that Shatarah had made Knuckles believe that there was more and that death was nothing to fear.

"No," he said quietly. "He just went home."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** See Chapter One

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up! Please forgive me!**

**And thank you all for waiting so patiently. I know that many of you have been waiting patiently for quite some time.**

**And thank you for everyone who has given my story so many hits! I can't remember the exact number, but I remember it was a bunch. **

**Also, it was late when I typed this up, so it may not be as good as I thought while I was typing it...**

**Um, anything else? Oh yeah! This chapter has old-school Sonic locations, such as the City of Metropolis and Hilltop Village. This is because I have been playing the Sonic games since LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG before the Dreamcast was ever thought of. In fact, I have an 18 inch (I think) Sonic plushie that I've had since I was five. (My older brother has Tails).**

**And I just started playing Sonic Adventure. I first played it when it came out, but when I got stuck in Twinkle Park a few minutes after I started playing, my friend took the controller to help me "evade Zero" (yeah, I was playing as Amy), and I never got it back. :P lol! But, it was his game and I do the same thing, so it's ok. Haha! So, now I have the game and am realizing that the way I've got things working with the Emerald and Chaos and stuff...not exactly how it went. But, since this is and Alternate Universe story, it should be ok, right? . Hmmmm...ok, so you are all probably getting really bored with this, and I've been up all night and should probably get some sleep. Plus, you've all been waiting too long, anyway. So, here it is...FINALLY!!**

_**Chapter Three: Strangers**_

Knuckles walked up the steps towards the Master Emerald. Shatarah had just been buried, and it was becoming more of a reality to Knuckles that he was now on his own. As he walked up the steps, he remembered the last conversation—or fight, rather—that he had with his father...

* * *

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" Goweh yelled as he swung a staff at Knuckles, who was unarmed.

"MY fault?!" said Knuckles, dodging the blow. "How is it MY fault?!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH THE EMERALDS!" Goweh replied, again trying to strike Knuckles.

"STOP TRYING TO HIT ME!!" Knuckles yelled. "ALL YOU HAVE DONE IS ABUSE ME ALL OF MY LIFE!! I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE THAT!"

"Yes you have!" Goweh yelled back. "You have ALWAYS been weak! You have ALWAYS been incompetent! If it weren't for you, we would still have a guardian for our precious Master Emerald! Now Shatarah is dead, and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Knuckles just stared at his father. He didn't know what to say or what to do.

"It would have been better if you had never been born!" said Goweh. Knuckles closed his eyes, and tears streamed down his face.

"_Please don't say it.." _he thought. Goweh walked over to him.

"Just as I thought," he said. "You are weak. You are worthless." He threw his staff down in front of Knuckles.

"Get out of my presence,"said Goweh.

"FINE!" yelled Knuckles. "I NEVER WANTED TO BE HERE ANYWAY! YOU'RE RIGHT! MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF I WERE NEVER BORN! I HATE YOU!"

* * *

Knuckles closed his eyes as he continued climbing the steps and tried to push the painful memory out of his mind. There were only two things that he had ever wanted: someone to grow old with and acceptance from his father. Now, it appeared that he would never have either.

When he reached the top of the steps, Knuckles looked up at the Master Emerald.

"Well," he said, "I guess I'm home."

Suddenly, the Emerald gave off a strange, orange glow and emitted three quiet sounds. Knuckles couldn't be sure, but he thought that it almost sounded like the Emerald had said "Welcome home." He looked at the Emerald strangely.

"Can you...can you...talk?" he asked. "Can you hear what I'm saying?" The Emerald's glow grew brighter and it let out a high-pitched hum.

"Uh, okay," said Knuckles. "Um, my name is Knuckles. I'm your new guardian."

"Shatarah...?" came a whisper. Knuckles hesitated for a moment.

"Shatarah...died. Yesterday," he said. The Emerald's glow dimmed.

"B-but I'm gonna take care of you," said Knuckles. The Emerald's glow became bright again.

"I know," it whispered. Knuckles stood in silence for a moment, not quite sure what to say.

"You are hurt," said the Emerald.

"No...?" said Knuckles.

"Your heart is." whispered the Emerald. Knuckles stood there for a moment before he spoke.

"Yes," he said.

"Then sleep now," said the Emerald. "You need your rest. Goodnight." After the Emerald had finished speaking, the glowing stopped. Knuckles sat down next to the Emerald.

"That was weird," he said to himself. But, then again, Shatarah had always taught him that the Emeralds had supernatural powers.

"_These are not ordinary jewels,"_ Shatarah had said. _"They have strange, mystical powers. Never doubt them, and never let them fall into the wrong hands."_

If that was true, then why wouldn't the Master Emerald, the most powerful of all of the Chaos Emeralds, be able to talk? Knuckles put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Maybe this won't be so bad," he said. With that, he fell asleep.

* * *

In Knuckles' dream, everything was black. He looked straight ahead and saw a shadowy figure standing in front of him. Suddenly, a beam of light illuminated the figure to reveal that it was a young, light orange echidna girl. She was wearing white gloves, a white shirt, and a skirt with multi-colored triangle patterns on it. A jeweled headpiece went under her quills and she had blue and gold bracelets on her wrists and arms. The ribbons on her sandals wrapped around her feet, up her legs, and tied just below her knees. She was standing with her hands clasped in front of her. Her head was bowed and her eyes were closed. Knuckles walked over to her and noticed that she was mumbling something, what she was saying, he couldn't tell, but he _did_ think that she looked strangely familiar.

"Hello?" he said. The girls opened her eyes.

"Knuckles," she said, "I'm scared."

"What do you mean?" asked Knuckles. "Why are you scared?"

"He's coming for me," said the girl. "Please don't let him take me."

"Who's coming?" asked Knuckles. "Who are you?"

"Please," said the girl.

* * *

Knuckles quickly awoke to see an odd-looking man staring at him. The man had thick glasses that rested on his long, pink nose and a pair of goggles that sat on the top of his bald head. Beneath his nose was a bushy, orange mustache. He was clothed in a red coat, black pants and boots, and white gloves. Knuckles gasped when he saw him.

"Who are you?!" he asked. "What are you doing here?!"

"Now, now," said the man. "There's no need for alarm. I'm here to help you. My name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik."

Though this was his first encounter with the scientist, Knuckles knew that name all too well.

"YOU!" he said as he jumped to his feet. "You're the one that's after the Emeralds!"

"Nonsense!" said Robotnik. "Who told you such a lie?" Knuckles hesitated. He didn't want to say who he had heard it from, that he actually agreed with them.

"Sonic," he finally said.

"And you believed him?" said Robotnik.

"Well, yeah," said Knuckles. "He's--"

"Your friend?" said Robotnik.

"NO!" snapped Knuckles. "I can't stand him! But everyone else on Mobius believes him!"

"Then I understand why you would, as well," said Robotnik. "But really, who is more trustworthy? A genius with an I.Q. Of three-hundred, or a self-centered hedgehog?"

Knuckles thought for a moment. Robotnik had a point, and a good one, at that.

"Listen," said Robotnik. "I'm here to help ensure that the Emeralds do not fall into the wrong hands." Knuckles looked at him for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "But if anything happens to the Emeralds, I'm coming after _you!_"

"Excellent," said Robotnik. Knuckles gave him a critical look, then let out a yawn.

"You must be exhausted!" said Robotnik.

"Yeah, well, five years of sleep deprivation will do that to you," said Knuckles.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" said Robotnik. "I'll look after the Emeralds."

Knuckles thought for a moment. He didn't want to leave the Emeralds in the hands of a stranger, but he also knew that he needed the sleep. After all, he hadn't slept for five years, and when he _did _sleep, he had nightmares. This had been the best that he had slept in a long time.

Knuckles gave Robotnik another look, then layed down and went to sleep.

* * *

Again in his dream, Knuckles saw the young echidna girl.

"You're back!" he said. The girl looked at him

"Please!" she said. "Don't trust him! Don't let him take me!"

"Who?" asked Knuckles.

"Please!" said the girl. She put her face in her hands and began to cry. Knuckles walked over to her and put his hand under her chin.

"Hey," he said as he lifted the girl's face. She looked up at him with a frightened expression on her face. Knuckles noticed that her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, the most beautiful that he had ever seen. He stared at her for a moment, completely awestruck by her beauty. Then he shook his head and gathered hi thoughts.

"Listen," he said, "I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise. But, can you at least tell me your name?"

The young girl stared at him.

"Tikal," she said. "My name is Tikal."

* * *

Knuckles suddenly awoke to the loud sound of machinery, the same sound he had heard at the Temple just two days earlier. Knuckles spun around to see what looked like a hovercraft of some kind with a large metal claw coming out of the bottom, which was gripping the Master Emerald. Piloting the craft was Robotnik.

"YOU!" yelled Knuckles as he jumped to his feet. "YOU LIED!"

"Of course I lied, you imbecile!" said Robotnik. "I'm a villain, it's what we do! The sad thing is that you believed me!"

Knuckles climbed up onto the Emerald.

"GIVE IT BACK!" he yelled.

"That's really not an option," said Robotnik. He pressed a button and a metal arm came out of the bottom of the hovercraft next to the claw. He pressed another button, and the arm knocked Knuckles off of the Emerald.

"Farewell, Knuckles!" said Robotnik. He pulled the Emerald out of it's base and flew away.

Knuckles stood up and ran after Robotnik. He ran through the ruins and the forest that surrounded the ancient city, chasing after his foe with only one thing on his mind: The Master Emerald. He knew that he would get it back. He _had_ to. When he reached the edge of the Island, however, his hopes were shattered. He watched as Robotnik flew of towards the horizon, the Master Emerald still in his possession. Knuckles' heart was pounding, his lungs were burning, and his legs were beginning to cramp.

"NO!" he yelled as he fell to his knees. "I've been the guardian for a day, and I've already lost the Emerald!" He lifted his head and looked towards Station Square. Just outside of Station Square was the city of Metropolis, and just beyond that was Hilltop Village, the home of the one person—or hedgehog—that could get the Emerald back.

Knuckles thought for a moment. The last person he wanted help from was Sonic.

"No," he said. "I can't let Sonic know that I've lost the Emerald. I'll never hear the end of it."

Suddenly, it felt as though an earthquake went across the entire Island. It was beginning to fall.

"It looks like I'm gonna have to get his help," said Knuckles. He stood back up.

"I may not like it," he said, "but I have to." He looked out towards Station Square again.

"Here goes," he said. He backed up a bit, then ran towards the edge of the Island, jumped off, and glided towards the city.


End file.
